I'm So "Ticked" Off !!!

So.....Have you ever had one of those instances where somebody tells you that they have something contagious and then they cough on you and you become completely convinced that you have now caught whatever disease they have? Or better yet, where someone tells you that they have lice going through their home, but now it's "under control"? Doesn't that last example just make you want to itch your head? No, we don't have lice going through our home, but I had an incredibly hard time sleeping well last night because I was convinced that I would wake up with a tic in my hair or somewhere else on my body, or on my children.
Here's the story. My sweet husband was in MN this last weekend. The land of lakes, right? So, he and his mother decided to go on an adventure to find a lake in the middle of some property that she bought a number of years ago. From the sounds of it, it was in a very heavily wooded and boggy area. My husband said that they walked for hours and finally found the lake, which they promptly named after his mom. Pretty good reward to have a lake named after you. Anyways, by the time they hiked back to the car, my husband said he had pulled off at least 30 ticks from himself and his mom had only pulled off 3. He told me this over the phone while he was still in MN. Naturally I assumed that he would wash his clothes and make sure that all the ticks were gone before he packed everything, right? Surely if he didn't have time to wash the clothes he would have at least gone through them to make sure that no bug was getting a free ride back to good old WA, right? WRONG!!! He simply folded up the wet, smelly, tick infested shorts, shirt, socks and shoes and put them in his suitcase. The night that we get back home, mind you it was 1:00am when we were finally able to go to bed, he just dumps all his "dirty" clothes in the clothes hamper and THEN throws his mildewed socks in the bathroom garbage can. (Like I wouldn't notice the thick stench of mildew along with the green fog rising from the small garbage can) I just happened to notice the wet, mildewed pair of shorts laying on top of the hamper and realize, much to my horror, that he had neglected to take care of everything. So, I promptly take the shorts out to the garage and throw them on the floor because I am positive there is a tick on them. The next morning he asks me why his shorts are on the garage floor and I explained to him that there is probably a tick on them and he just smirks at me and shrugs his shoulders. I know he was secretly thinking that I was totally over reacting...until....oh yes, there is an "until", until he comes home from work on Monday to find the kids completely out of their minds over the blood sucking tick that mom found in the house on the door to the garage. As I was cleaning house, I happened to notice a small bug on the door trim to the garage, and sure enough, there it was. So, now the question was, how do you really kill a tick? Aren't you supposed to burn them or something? I think I had heard that they can't be squished or something like that. So I put the silly thing under my sons new bug microscope and trap it there until my husband can get home. He takes it outside and sets it on fire and that was that. I think he just did that for the ohh, ahhh effect, but I don't care because at least it is dead. Well, now the questions is, how many more are lurking in the garage and house. I swear that every little itch or odd tickle sensation makes me sit up and turn the light on next to the bed because I am just certain it is a tick! UGH!!! So, yes, I am ticked off!! (But I'll get over it once I don't see any more of them through the next couple of weeks.
On a different note, I am trying out a new background as you already know. I am hopeful that it will load much faster than the other one. The one that I really liked wouldn't work. :( Let me know if it loads faster for you.